Fancy yourself a home project expert? Then you probably know a thing or two about drills, drains, and other DIY basics. You probably also know some of the tedious parts about home improvement projects, like the little messes (and sometimes big messes) you tend to leave behind.

One of the most annoying of all is the mess left behind from drilling into wall plaster. You have to do this simple act for SO many projects, and you always end up leaving behind a thick sheet of dust and debris that’s obnoxious to clean up.

Face it, if you’re working on a project, you have a million things on your plate. The last thing you need is to stop, get the dustpan, and try and sweep up every last shred of wall plaster. That’s a bad way to stay on schedule.

So is there anyway you can avoid the cleanup of this commonplace action? You can’t very well stop drilling into wall plaster and you’re sick of stopping to clean – so what can you do?

Simple! You can grab a regular, letter-sized envelope and a piece of regular tape.

Sounds a little weird, right? How can a simple paper envelope help you avoid a mound of dust? By acting as your floating dustpan, of course!

All you have to do is open up your envelope, folding the top up so there’s a wide opening. Then take your tape and stick the envelope to the wall; we would suggest taping it by the top flap, just to make sure it doesn’t get in the way.

See where we’re going with this? You’ll tape the open envelop under wherever you’re drilling, so when you drill into the plaster, all the dust and debris will fall right into the open pocket below. Then you can simply toss out the envelope or empty out the contents so you can use it again!

This is a super easy way to avoid the cleanup of an unavoidable DIY task, without having to spend any extra money. You probably have an envelope hanging around the house right now, and it’s much easier to set up than a large tarp on the floor.

In both price and efficiency, this hack is the way to go for your next home improvement project. Save yourself a little cleanup after your long day of work and chill out instead! You’re welcome.

What do you think of this DIY envelope hack? Share your thoughts on this handy trick in the comments section below.